In 548 BC, two powerful ministers of the state of Qi, Cui Zhu and Qing Feng, conspired to assassinate Duke Zhuang of Qi and placed his half-brother on the throne, known as Duke Jing of Qi. Duke Jing then appointed Cui Zhu as the Right Chancellor and Qing Feng as the Left Chancellor.
After Duke Zhuang was assassinated, two of his most loyal guards, Lu Pu Gui and Wang He, were forced to flee the state.
Lu Pu Gui instructed his younger brother Lu Pu Pie before fleeing, "After I escape, you must find a way to gain the trust of Cui Zhu and Qing Feng. When the time is right, call me back to avenge Duke Zhuang together."
After Lu Pu Gui left, Lu Pu Jie lived up to his mission and became a retainer in Qing Feng's household. He soon noticed that Qing Feng, though titled Left Chancellor, held no real power, so he devised a plan to exploit the succession disputes among Cui Zhu's sons. By stirring up the conflict, Lu Pu Jie orchestrated the massacre of Cui Zhu's entire family, and Cui Zhu himself hanged in despair. From that moment, all power fell squarely into Qing Feng's hands.
Qing Feng was deeply grateful to Lu Pu Nie and trusted him completely. Before long, Qing Feng became infatuated with a woman and handed over all state affairs to his son, Qing She.
Lu Pujie persuaded Qing Feng to recall Lu Pugui and appoint him as Qing She's bodyguard. Lu Pugui, exceptionally strong and skilled, deliberately flattered Qing She, winning his favor. Qing She even married his daughter Qing Jiang to him.
Soon, Lu Pugui convinced Qingshe to recall Wang He back to the state as well, appointing him as a fellow bodyguard. From then on, the two intensified their secret activities, rallying those dissatisfied with the Qing clan to prepare for eliminating them and avenging Duke Zhuang.
Lu Puwei's wife, Qing Jiang, noticed her husband acting secretively and asked what he was up to, promising to help with all her might. Lu Puwei then revealed his plan to eliminate the Qing clan and avenge Duke Zhuang. Qing Jiang, showing great righteousness, declared she would place justice above family ties and assist her husband in this noble deed.
Qing Jiang kept his word. They chose the day Qing Feng went hunting to launch their coup. Qing Jiang also persuaded his father to accompany Duke Jing of Qi to the ancestral temple for a sacrificial ceremony, making it easier for Lu Pu Gui and his men to strike.
During a sacrificial ceremony, Lu Pu Gui and Wang He suddenly lunged at Qing She with halberds. Mortally wounded, Qing She fought back in his death throes, smashing Wang He dead with a wine jug. Lu Pu Gui then led armored soldiers to slaughter Qing She's remaining followers. Qing Feng, learning of the coup while out hunting, rushed back with his hunting troops to attack the city. But the defenses were too strong to breach, forcing him to flee to the state of Lu.
Later, someone asked Lu Pu Gui, "Both the Qing and Lu clans are descendants of the Jiang family. How could you marry Qing Jiang, who shares the same clan?"
Lu Pu Gui replied, "Qing She did not avoid his own clan when marrying his daughter to me, so why should I avoid it? Just as people take lines out of context from the Book of Songs to express their own meaning, I only take what I want—why should I care about the same clan or not?"
Later, the idiom "taking quotes out of context" came to mean citing only a passage or sentence from someone's writing or speech while ignoring the overall content.
Source: *Zuo Zhuan*, "Duke Xiang's Twenty-Eighth Year"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "断章取义" came to describe citing only a passage or sentence from someone's writing or speech while ignoring the overall content.